I Be Up in the Gym Just Working on My Fitness

Those of you who know me well know that I HATE going to the gym. I like to come home after a "hard" day's work and take a nap. I'll admit it... I'm kind of lazy. When I started this weight loss journey, I knew this would be my greatest challenge.

I haven't been as committed on the exercise front. I started going to the gym once I got medical clearance, then the holidays and New Year came around, and I abandoned my routine. A few weeks ago, I decided I would have no more excuses and would start my workouts again every week day after work. Well, that was a bit of an over statement. I find myself super tired on Mondays because I'm still recovering from the weekend and getting adjusted to getting up early and going to work. And Fridays... let be real. Fridays after work, I usually crash or start getting ready for what ever I'm planning to do that night. So now I've set a more realistic goal: I will work out in the gym Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, and on Sundays, I'll attend a Zumba class with some of my girlfriends.

I started my solo workouts in the gym, which consisted of 30 minutes on the treadmill, 15 minutes on the elliptical machine (#archnemisis), and 15 minutes on the bicycle. Last Wednesday, I was just not feeling it and almost convinced myself that I shouldn't go to work out. I didn't listen to that little devil on my shoulder and proceeded to the gym to work out. After about 10 minutes on the treadmill, two roommates entered the gym and one was training the other.

I asked the personal trainer about his background and his fees, which were super expensive ($50 for an hour session; $25 for a half-hour session). I let him know I couldn't afford that and thanked him for his time. Out of the kindness of his heart, he allowed me to join his roommate for that training session for free. He worked me out like never before. 

I always felt that personal trainers were overrated, but they aren't. He definitely pushes me to the limit. I never pushed myself that hard working out by myself. He keeps me motivated and lets me know I'm doing a good job. And boy, do I feel the difference! I could barely move the next day. I worked out harder in 30 minutes with him than I did in an hour by myself. He joined me, again, the next day to do some cardio on the treadmill.

After explaining my financial situation with him, he agreed to work with me two times a week for $20 a week. Those of you who have worked with trainers know that's an AMAZING deal. I made excuses as to why I couldn't afford a personal trainer. After careful reevaluation, I realized that I could afford it if I cut out some of my other bad habits. Weight loss is a priority, so I had to start treating it that way. I've wasted money on frivolous things in the past which weren't benefiting my overall health. Using that money towards a personal trainer is a much better use of my funds, time, brain cells, and a list of other things. This is definitely an evolving moment for me, and I am proud of this personal growth.

Let Me Fill You In...

Yesterday was a great day! I had an appointment with my surgeon to get my first "fill" for my lap band. Originally scheduled for January 10, I had to reschedule my appointment due to Snowpocalypse 2011. Many people have asked me to explain this process to them, so here goes...

The lap band is a plastic band that fastens around your stomach. The inside lining of that band is a silicon "balloon." The band then has a silicon vessel that leads to a port, which is situated above your belly button area. When the doctor gives you a "fill," he uses a huber needle (very thin needle) to inject saline into your port and fill your band.

The lap band is placed on the upper portion of the stomach.

When saline is injected and the silicone ballon expands, the upper part of your stomach stays full for a longer period of time. Food, over time, drops through the banded opening and is digested normally. Doctors band the upper portion of your stomach because this is where all of the nerves are that tell your brain you are full.

I will start off having monthly fills. As time goes on, I'll have fills based upon my weight loss progression. Eventually, I'll get to a point where I'll only need a fill once a year.

Getting the band filled helps with food resctriction, as well. I will not be able to eat as much because my upper stomach will get full quicker and stay full longer. There are certain foods that don't pass through the band as easily, such as tough meat, bread, and rice. It's a great deal of work learning what your body can and cannot digest. Every person and every band is different. The one consensus I've gathered is that Mexican food passes through the band easily, which is great because that's my favorite types of food!

 

If I overeat or eat something that does not digest well, it can feel like the food is stuck in my esophagus and cause me to vomit what I've just eaten. I've, for the most part, been eating tilapia and boneless, skinless chicken breasts. I have to get creative because eating fish and chicken every day can get pretty boring, pretty fast. I'll eventually do a post showcasing some of my concoctions so you all can see some of the healthier food items I've learned to prepare.

Trigger Happy

So this week has been extremely stressful for me, which has not been good for the healthy eating habits I've been working so hard on. As some of you know, I have a super important interview for a DREAM job on Thursday afternoon. I booked this interview a few days before Christmas, and allegedly, the office manager emailed me the information concerning the details of the presentation I had to do in this said email on December 22. Well, I combed through my junk mail every day from the time I booked the interview until this past Monday. I sent an email to the office manager on December 29 asking about the email confirmation from her, but she didn't respond because the office was closed the week between Christmas and New Year's.

So Monday, January 3 comes around, and she finally sends me details of the interview and the presentation. I begin to FREAK THE FUCK OUT! I just want to do well and make an impression, and it's very stressful to do a good presentation in THREE days, especially considering I could have had 15 days to complete it.

With all that being said, the stress made me just want to pig out and eat. Unfortunately, I didn't have the will power to not go to Mellow Mushroom and get a small House pizza with no black olives and extra mushrooms. #myfave. While it was delicious, I felt super guilty after eating it, especially since I've been working so hard to make better food choices. I did share a lot of the greasy pork toppings with my dogs, and they thoroughly enjoyed them.

Eating healthy is very hard. It takes a lot of dedication and planning. Perhaps if I had gone grocery shopping, I wouldn't have an empty fridge, and would have no excuse to go out and get something bad (yet so good) to eat. I'm going grocery shopping tomorrow, so it's back to tilapia fillets, chicken breasts, and spinach. #yum-o. I'll do a special post on some of the concoctions I've been preparing one of these days.

On a much happier note, I've scheduled my first fill for Monday, January 10 at 8:00 am. I'll do a more detailed post explaining this process! #untilnexttime